Push brooms and brush blocks and handle mountings therefor



Aug. 18, 1970 s. M LEAN I 3,524,210

PUSH BROOMS AND BRUSH BROCKS AND H ANDLE MOUNTINGS THEREFOR Filed Oct.6, 1967 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 M/VE/VTOR SCOTT Mc LEA/V QMGE@ BY- T ETH Aug.18, 1970 s, McLEAN 3,524,210

PUSH BROOMS AND BRUSH BROCKS AND HANDLE MOUNTINGS THEREFOR Filed Oct. 6,1967 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 nvvavron I80 scorr Ma LEA/V United States Patent3,524,210 PUSH BROOMS AND BRUSH BLOCKS AND HANDLE MOUNTINGS THEREFORScott McLean, 800 Wakefield Drive, Bowling Green, Ky. 42101 Filed Oct.6, 1967, Ser. No. 678,145 Int. Cl. A46b /00; B25g 3/30 U.S. Cl. 15-145 3Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE PRIOR ART It has been found in recentyears in the manufacture of push brooms and brushes that the quality ofthe wood which is available for making the so-called brush blocks inwhich the tufts or bristles and the handle or staff are mounted hasbecome of increasingly poor quality with the result that the inferiorbrush blocks which are provided are objectionable in use and provideinadequate mounting for the handle or staff and for the tufts orbristles mounted thereon.

It has also been found that in the use of prior wooden push brooms ofbrushes the threaded in the handle mounting sockets and on the handle orstafi become worn in use with the result that the handle or staifbecomes loose and the push broom or brush block becomes unsatisfactoryin use.

OBJECTS An object of the present invention, therefore, is to provide anew and improved brush block for push brooms and brushes which isrelatively simple and economical in construction and which in use fillsup and covers any cracks or like defects in the wooden body membercomponent of the brush block while, at the same time, permitting the useof low grade wood or lumber for the wooden body member component of thenew brush block.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a new and improvedbrush block for push brooms and brushes which is strong and durable inuse and provides better mounting for the bristles than prior brushblocks.

A further object of the invention is to provide a brush block for pushbrooms and brushes which embodies a molded plastic resinous handlemounting component having an internally threaded socket formed thereinwhich provides a strong durable mounting for the handle or staff.

Another object of the invention is to provide in one form thereof anovel molded plastic resinous handle mounting component for a push broomor brush having latching elements integrally mold therein and handle orstaff including a portion having latching elements integrally moldedtherein and latchingly engageable with the latching elements integrallymolded therein and a handle or the push broom or block to releasablylatch the handle or staff in position of use on the brush block andagainst dislodgment therefrom due to wear in use and other factors.

Other objects will appear hereinafter.

DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a fragmentary sectional view of a typical push broomembodying the present invention;

3,524,210 Patented Aug. 18, 1970 ice FIG. 2 is a top plan view of thenew brush block and handle mounting with parts thereof broken away;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the new brush block, shown in FIG.2, with parts of the same broken away and showing part of the handle orstaff mounted thereon;

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view on line 44 in FIG. 2, wit-hparts thereof broken away;

FIG. 5 is a transverse vertical sectional view of the new brush block online 55 in FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a transverse vertical sectional view on line 66 on FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view of a modification of theinvention;

FIG. 8 is a view on line 8-8 in FIG. 7 partly in section and partly inelevation;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged sectional view on line 9-9 in FIG. 7;

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary exploded view of the parts of the modificationof the invention shown in FIGS. 7, 8 and 9;

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary detail view of another modification of theinvention;

FIG. 12 is an enlarged detailed elevational view on line 1212 in FIG.11;

FIG. 13 is an enlarged transverse sectional view, partly in elevation,on line 13--13 in FIG. 11; and

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of another form of brush embodying theinvention, with a part thereof broken away to show the internalconstruction of the brush block.

A typical and preferred embodiment of the new brush block is illustratedin FIGS. 1 to 6, inclusive, of the drawings, wherein it is generallyindicated at 15, and is shown in a typical use thereof, namely, asembodied in a push broom 16 which includes a handle or staff 17.

The new brush block 15 comprises an inner wooden body member component18 and an outer molded plastic resinous component 19 which is integrallymolded and bonded to the inner wooden body member component 18 andprovides an outer shell or casing therefor. The outer molded plasticresinous component or casing 19 includes a top wall 20, side walls 21,and end walls 22 and the side walls 21 have inwardly angled bottom wallportions 23 molded integrally therewith. Each of the bottom wallportions 23 has an anchoring lug portion 24 formed thereon at its innerend and each of these anchoring lugs 24 engages and is fixed in acorrespondingly shaped recess 25 which is formed in the wooden bodymember component 18 (FIG. 5).

The new brush block 15 includes a central handle mounting portion 26which is formed as an integral molded part of the outer shell or casingcomponent 19 and fits into a correspondingly shaped recess 27 in thewooden body member. component 18. The central handle mounting portion 26of the outer shell or casing component 19 has a pair of inwardlyextending intenrally threaded handle-receiving recesses or sockets 28formed therein (FIGS. 2, 4, and 6). These handle receiving recesses orsockets 28 extend inwardly into the handle-mounting portion 26 from bothsides thereof to enable the handle or staff 17 to be inserted into thehandle-receiving recesses or sockets 28 at different angles relative tothe brush block 15.

It will be noted that the outer molded plastic resinous shell or casingcomponent 19 encloses the inner wooden member component 18 on all sidesthereof except the bottom of the latter and thus conceals any defects,such as cracks, knots, or the like, in the wooden body member component18, while, at the same time, filling up any cracks or like defects inthe wooden body member component 18 are filled up to compensate for anywarping or other distortion in the wooden body member component 18.

The internally threaded handle recesses or sockets 28 in the centralhandle-mounting portion 26 of the outer molded plastic resinous shell orcasing 19, being integrally molded as a part of the handle-mountingportion 26, provide stronger and more durable threaded sockets for theexternally threaded lower end portion of the handle or staff 17 than ispossible with the internally threaded wooden socket members of priorwooden brush blocks which tend to chip and wear rapidly in use with theresult that the handle or staff become loose in its mounting and thepush broom or brush works unsatisfactorily.

In the use the outer molded plastic resinous shell component 19 may bemolded in any suitable manner directly over the wooden body membercomponent 18, as by injection molding, or the like, and for this purposeany suitable molding resin may be employed such, for example, aspolystyrene resin, or the like. Thereafter the handle recesses orsockets 28 may be bored into the body of the central handle-mountingportion 26 or, if desired, the sockets 28 may be molded into the handlemounting portion 26 during the molding operation.

A modification of the invention is illustrated in FIGS. 7 to 10,inclusive, of the drawings, and those parts thereof which are similar orcomparable to corresponding parts of the invention illustrated in FIGS.1 to 6, inclusive, have been given similar reference numerals followedby the additional and distinguishing reference character a.

In the modification of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 7 to 10,inclusive, the lower end portion of the handle or staff 29 is providedwith a sleeve or collar 30 which is preferably made of rubber orsynthetic copolymer elastomer of a flexible nature, and the collar 30 isintegrally bonded to the handle staff 29 in any suitable manner, as bymeans of an adhesive bonding material. The sleeve or collar 30 includesan annular flange 31 at its lower end and this flange 31 has an annularrow of flexible latching elements in the form of latching detents 32formed thereon. An annular row of complementary latching elements in theform of latching recesses 33 are formed in the upper end portion of eachof the threaded sockets 28a for the reception of the flexible moldedlatching detents 32. The lower end portion 34 of the handle or staff 29is externally threaded and is of reduced diameter relative to the bodyof the handle or staff 29 and is adapted to be threaded selectively intoone of the threaded sockets 28a.

In the use of the form of the invention shown in FIGS. 7 to 10,inclusive, when the externally threaded lower end portion 34 of thehandle or staff 29 is threaded into engagement with one of theinternally threaded sockets 28a in the central handle mounting portion26a of the brush block 15a the flexible latching detents 32 come intoalignment with and latchingly engage in the complementary latchingrecesses 33 in the body of the central handle mounting portion 26 of thebrush block 15a, thereby firmly latching the handle or staff 29-30. Whenit is desired to remove the handle from the brush block 260, it may berotated in an opposite direction (counterclockwise) whereupon theflexible latching elements 32 will become dislodged from the latchingrecesses 33 in the handle sockets 28a, thereby freeing the handle orstaff 29- 30 for withdrawal from the brush block 26a by further rotationof the handle or staff 29-30.

Another modification of the invention is illustrated in FIG. 11 of thedrawings. This form of the invention is similar to that shown in FIGS. 7to 10, inclusive, and hence those parts thereof which are similar orcomparable to corresponding parts in the form of the inventionillustrated in FIGS. 7 to 10, inclusive, have been given similarreference numerals followed by the additional and distinguishingreference character b.

In the form of the invention illustrated in FIG. 11 the relationship ofthe coacting latching elements 32-33 in the form of the inventionillustrated in FIGS. 7 to 10, in-

elusive, is reversed and an annular row of latching recesses 35 isprovided in the lower end portion of the flexible molded collar 30b onthe handle or staff 29b, and a complementary annular row of flexiblelatching detent 36 is molded integrally in the body of the molded handlemounting portion 26b of the brush block and within an annular recess orcavity 37 which surrounds the internally threaded handle socket 28b.

In the use of the form of the invention illustrated in FIG. 11, as theexternally threaded lower end portion or tenon 34 of the handle or staff29b-30b is threaded into the internally threaded socket 28b, theflexible latching detent 36 on the handle mounting portion 26b engagesin the complementary latching recesses 35 on the collar 30!) and thussecurely latches the handle or staff 29- 30b to the central handlemounting portion 26b of the brush block. However, when the handle orstaff 29b-30b is rotated in the opposite direction (counterclockwise) towithdraw the threaded lower end portion or tenon 34 from the socket 28bthe first part of this rotation dislodges the flexible latching elements36 from the latching recesses 35 and thus frees the handle or staff29b-30b for removal from the central handle mounting position 26b byfurther rotation thereof.

Another form of brush which may embody the present invention isillustrated in FIG. 14 of the drawings, wherein it is generallyindicated at 38-, and may take the form of a window brush, or other formof hand brush, embodying a brush block which is generally similar to thebrush block 15 in the form of the invention shown in FIGS. 1 to 6,inclusive, except that it does not embody a handle mounting. The brushblock 150 includes an inner wooden body member component 18c and outermolded plastic resinous component or casing 19c integrally molded to theinner wooden body member component 18c in which tufts of bristles 39 aremounted.

It will thus be seen from the foregoing description, considered inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, that the present inventionprovides a new and improved push broom and brush block and handlemounting therefor, and thus has the desirable advantages andcharacteristics and accomplishes its intended objects including thosehereinbefore pointed out and others which are inherent in the invention.

I claim:

1. A push broom comprising a brush block and a handle, said handlehaving a reduced threaded end with adjacent latching means, and saidbrush block having oppositely directed threaded sockets with an enlargedannular cavity at the upper end portion of each, latching means disposedwithin said annular cavity, said threaded sockets in said brush blockselectively receiving said threaded end of said handle and secured inassembled relationship by said latching means on said handle cooperatingwith said latching means on said brush block.

2. The push broom of claim 1 where said latching means on said handleare flexible projections and said latching means on said brush block arerecesses.

3. The push broom of claim 1 where said latching means on said handleare recesses and said latching means on said brush block are flexibleprojections.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 607,105 7/ 1898 Wilkinson.1,339,026 5/ 1920 Hamilton. 1,379,085 7/ 1921 Davis 306-28 1,542,3696/1925 Byrd 306-29 2,144,516 1/ 1939 Van Dyke 306-29 XR 3,135,001 6/1964Levite 306-28 XR 1,350,652 8/1920 Hughes 306-30 XR 1,970,525 8/1934Lyons 151-415 XR 2,117,373 5/1938 Sobotka 287-128 XR (Other referenceson following page) FOREIGN PATENTS Australia. Germany. Germany. France.France. France. France.

1,328,516 4/1963 France.

5 DANIEL BLUM, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R.

